Project achievements

The EBESM project has organised so far 5 regional seminars, more than 20 in-country seminars and produced numerous research, studies and analytical work at country and regional levels, including policy actionable recommendations, that the country can immediately implement, as well as a substantial corpus of high-level training and documentation (e.g. concept notes, policy briefs, etc.). In addition, the project has produced 2 regional studies and 16 national studies in the area of Access to Finance and Women Entrepreneurship.

Through these activites, the project supported MED partners in implementing reforms in selected areas of the SBA, such as: better regulations and SME test tools, administrative simplification and digitalisation, inter-institutional coordination and public-private dialogue mechanisms for SME policy making, a legal framework for crowdfunding, structuring a mezzanine and export financing funds, exchanges and trading platforms for SMEs, etc.

The research and analytical work aimed at devising appropriate recommendations for policy-making in light of the business environment and MSMEs development. The results of this analytical work has been disseminated and discussed both at regional and national levels and provided important inputs to feed and deepen the policy dialogue and to help MED partners implement reforms for a more competitive and business-friendly environment.

In particular, the regional seminars, provided a platform for policy dialogue, peer learning, sharing experiences and good practices (North-South and South-South) among the European Commission and MED policymakers, the members of the Euro-Med Industrial Cooperation Working Group, experts, representatives of the private sector, and regional and international organisations based on the analytical work produced by the project, to improve MSMEs policies to address key development issues for the MED region.

At country-level, national seminars were organised backed by tailored technical assistance in selected domains, to help MED partners implement reforms in specific areas identified through the regional studies and seminars in order to improve the regulatory framework for entrepreneurs and businesses. During these in-country workshops country-specific actionable recommendations have been formulated in a participatory approach.

The total amount of participants is in excess of 1500 persons that are the base for multiplier effects and consolidation.

These participative and informal sessions were well received and highly appreciated by stakeholders; they also allowed participants to interact as a team, bond with their counterparts, and create inter-institutional linkages. Very concrete and tangible results may be summarised as follows:

High-level interaction, open discussion and a strong degree of consensus between different types of stakeholders (Enterprises, Private Sector, Public and State Institutions, Civil Society etc.);

Agreement, in each country, on the short-term and medium-term priority actions that can and should be accomplished for real progress on the implementation of the SBA principles;

The definition, with SBA coordinators, of the step-by-step plan for achieving the objectives in each country by implementing the actions plans.